


Surprise!

by ineedmysickfix



Series: Scottish Safehouse: Polychives Edition [10]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Multi, No beta we kayak like Tim, S1 Polycule, Set in Episodes 159-160 | Scottish Safehouse Period (The Magnus Archives), for flavor ~, polychives, with a bit of angst sprinkled in
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 20:41:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29988561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ineedmysickfix/pseuds/ineedmysickfix
Summary: Something was wrong. Or notwrongper se, but they were acting off the night before, jumping whenever Sasha entered the room while they quietly mumbled amongst themselves. When Tim had steered her out of the room, rambling on about what to have for dinner while Jon and Martin scrambled to look normal, she knew that they were hiding something. She tried not to let it bother her, if they wanted to tell her they would, but the researcher in her poked its head out and she knew that she would get to the bottom of it.-----------The boys have a bit of a surprise for Sasha. But she starts getting suspicious from the get go.
Relationships: Martin Blackwood/Sasha James/Jonathan "Jon" Sims | The Archivist/Tim Stoker
Series: Scottish Safehouse: Polychives Edition [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2049723
Comments: 4
Kudos: 45





	Surprise!

**Author's Note:**

> This meant to be a short fluffy one shot and ended up being almost 3.5k words lol

Something was wrong. Or not _wrong_ per se, but Tim, Martin, and Jon were all acting off the night before, jumping whenever Sasha entered the room while they quietly mumbled amongst themselves. When Tim had steered her out of the room, rambling on about what to have for dinner while Jon and Martin scrambled to look normal, she knew that they were hiding something. She tried not to let it bother her, if they wanted to tell her they would, but the researcher in her was curious and she knew that she would get to the bottom of it.

The next day started off as normal, she woke up early to the sound of Martin and Tim snuggled up together, snoring up a storm and an empty space on the bed that Jon had previously occupied. The distant rustling of paper and a low, melodious humming filtered its way upstairs as Sasha washed up and told her that Jon had probably gotten up to have a statement before the day properly started. He did this more often than not so he could spend more time with his partners instead of having to distance himself to save them from the horrors of the statements. Smiling and trying to tie up her sleep-flattened curls, Sasha descended the stairs to see Jon stood over the small kitchen table. “Morning, love. What’re you doing?”

At the sound of Sasha’s voice, Jon whipped his head up and turned to face her, trying to hide whatever he was fiddling behind his back, “Oh, m-morning Sasha. You’re up early.” The item in his hand crinkled as he carefully moved closer to her, a forced smile plastered on his face.

“Um, no? I normally get up this early, you know that.” Sasha's eyes shifted from Jon’s suspiciously giddy expression to the item hidden just well enough behind his back that she couldn’t even begin to imagine what it was.

She tilted her head as if to catch a glimpse of whatever it was but Jon simply leaned his body to the side, obviously not wanting her to see. She sighed and shook her head. It was difficult to keep secrets in the cabin, especially since there were four of them and not much square footage to spare and they all had tried to come to terms with it. But they were still human and each needed space to deal with things on their own from time to time, and if Jon had something he didn’t want her to see, then she’d let him. “Okay, you know you’re acting _really_ suspicious right now, right?”

“I- uh, I have absolutely no idea what you’re on about,” Jon said, his old dry Head Archivist voice slipping into his tone. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to...finish up something before I help you start breakfast.”

With that, Sasha watched as Jon whipped around and vanished upstairs. She remembered how jumpy he could be on a good day back in the archives and though she wasn’t around to see him after the discovery of Gertrude’s body all those years ago, Tim and Martin had filled her in on just how bad things could get with him. “Look, you can sneak about and keep your secrets just as long as it doesn’t hurt anybody!” She called out. God she really hoped he wasn’t doing anything that was going to end badly.

* * *

The midmorning sun shone down on the cabin’s back garden as Sasha and Tim sat on an old tattered blanket and enjoyed a cup of tea. It was nice, being able to have some semblance of peace after living out literal nightmares for the past few years. Sasha breathed in the rich, country air and leaned against Tim, happy to just relax for once. 

She felt Tim’s shoulders bounce with laughter as he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her down until her head was nestled in his lap. “Hey you,” Tim said as he looked down, his eyes full of pure adoration and a hint of mischief, “Up for a bit of soul searching questions?”

Sasha laughed and raised an eyebrow, “What brought this on then? Getting existential in your old age, Stoker?”

“Hey! I’m only the oldest by a few years, lay off.” He leaned down and placed a quick kiss on her forehead. “Nah I just- I have a lot of questions in my head is all. And I just wanted to make sure… nah, never mind just forget it.”

Sasha watched as Tim’s face grew grim and he leaned back, staring up at the unending blue of the cloudless sky. Make sure… make sure that she’s really… Sasha hastily sat up and took his hand, hastily shaking her head as her eyes locked onto his, “No, no, no! It’s okay, I don’t mind questions, Tim. Really, go ahead and ask.” Whatever makes you feel better, makes you sure that I’m me, she didn’t say.

His eyes softened, the hints of doubt and misery ebbing away as he leaned in for a proper kiss. “Alright then, if you’re so eager now,” he laughed. “If you could have anything in the world right now in this exact moment, literally anything, what would you want?”

For a second, his eyes flickered to the cabin before settling back onto her. “Damn, where did that come from?” Sasha laughed at the question, absolutely taken back by just how serious Tim was being. “Well, hmm. Anything in the world huh?”

“Okay, wait, not _anything_ anything. How about… what’s something attainable you’d want right now? Like if I could go out and get anything for you, what would you want?”

“Ah, well then I can’t ask for world peace then?” Tim swatted her arm but she ignored it. “I honestly don’t know. I feel like I have everything I could want right now; a nice rent free cabin in the countryside, three lovely boyfriends, enough food and drinks to last us a while. Hmm, actually I’d really love a new journal or maybe-”

A loud yelp from inside followed by a loud string of swears cut Sasha off and she was up on her feet before she realized. Tim stood up too and held onto her arm before she could move. “Slow down there, Sash. I’m sure the boys are fine, probably just mucked up making lunch or something.” He ushered for her to sit down before looking over at the cabin, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure they didn’t burn anything. Just hold that thought for now, don’t think I’m letting you get away with not answering me.” He shouted over his shoulder as he disappeared inside the cabin.

Sasha smiled and sat back, wondering what had gotten into Tim all of a sudden while trying to ignore the small plume of black smoke emanating from the cabin’s window.

* * *

Martin had been the one to suggest going out on a late afternoon walk. After nearly burning the kitchen down, Jon had temporarily banished him from the cabin which was fair. And of course they all tried to make sure he was never alone for too long, hence why Sasha agreed to go out walking with him, but there was something _off_ with the whole thing. 

It all seemed too planned; Jon forgetting what time Sasha normally got up while he was working on something when he knew or sometimes Knew when she got up. Then Tim setting up a small picnic in the back garden for just the two of them, which was lovely but he got a bit restless after making sure the cabin didn’t catch fire. And now Martin was fidgeting. 

He always fidgeted was the thing. Anyone who met him and interacted with him for a small amount of time would be able to notice how much he fidgeted with his hands or his jumper or a mug of tea. But Sasha wasn’t just anybody. She knew what normal amounts of jitteriness was for him and this wasn’t it. The last time she could remember Martin being this skittish was just before he admitted to lying on his CV so she knew he was probably keeping something from her.

“You okay, Martin?” Sasha asked softly as she took one of his hands in her own. “You know you can talk to me, right? Or if you don’t want to talk just know that I’m here for you.”

Martin’s anxious expression softened as he squeezed her hand, his shoulders visibly relaxing at the gesture. “It’s...I’m fine, Sasha don’t worry. Just a bit longer then we can go back to the cabin,” he mumbled under his breath, his eyes fixed on the setting sun as they continued walking.

Sasha sighed but didn’t press. He’ll come around and talk about what was bothering him when he was ready. She just hoped that it didn’t have to do with whatever Jon and Tim were obviously hiding from her. But...why would they try to hide something from her? They trusted her, had listened to the old tapes her voice was recorded on, had believed her as she retold her life story to prove that she was still her. But the effects of the Stranger, of the year it took them to realize that Sasha was Not Sasha still lingered. 

No one ever mentioned anything if Martin did a double take, or if Jon wanted to spend time and just listen to her speak, or if Tim stared at her for just too long as if they were all making sure she really was Sasha. But they checked, and double checked and made absolutely sure it was her. And she loved them dearly and they loved her back, but the fear was still there no matter what. 

Sasha hadn’t realized she started crying until she felt Martin brush a tear from her cheek. She looked up to see him looking at her with concern evident on his face. They stopped and stared at each other before she launched herself at him, wrapping him into a tight hug as she buried her face into his shoulder. Martin returned the gesture and gently ran a hand up and down her back. “Heh, looks like it’s my turn to ask what’s the matter?” He joked though his voice was laced with worry.

She sniffled and pressed her face further into Martin’s jumper, muffling her words against the soft material. “Sorry but I couldn’t catch that, Sash.”

With a shuddering breath, she pulled back, her cheeks red and wet with tears. “I’m sorry. It’s just- I know you three are hiding something from me and…” she sniffled and dropped her head, focusing on the worn dirt path beneath her feet, “...and if you three don’t- don’t _trust_ me enough to tell me then- then I’m willing to do anything to gain that trust back. To prove for the millionth time that I’m Sasha, _your_ Sasha.”

A tense silence hung in the air as the two stood there, the world still continuing to move around them even in that still moment in time. Eventually, Sasha sneaked a glance up and was shocked to see Martin on the verge of crying himself. His eyes held unshed tears, his hands clasped themselves around his mouth, and his whole body shook with the effort it took not to cry right there and then. “Oh fuck, fuck Martin I’m sorry I just meant-”

Martin surprised her by reaching out and pulling her into a bone crushing hug, his shoulders shaking with surprised laughter. Confused and thrown off by everything, Sasha stood there and let herself be hugged before Martin pulled back revealing an oddly excited smile on his face. “Sasha, for the last time you do not need to prove yourself. We know it’s you and we will trust and love you always. And as for the thing we’re hiding,” Martin chuckled and grabbed her hand, leading her back up the trail, “I think it’s about time we head back home.”

* * *

The sky was dark by the time they made it back to the cabin, the lights inside still surprisingly off. They crossed the threshold side by side and as Sasha reached for the door handle, Martin gently grabbed her shoulder effectively stopping her. He took her hands and turned her so they were face to face, “Sasha, I’m sorry we kept this from you but we really wanted to make sure everything was perfect for today.”

Before Sasha could even think to reply, Martin swung the front door open and turned on the lights.

“Surprise! Happy birthday, Sasha!” Tim and Jon’s voices rang out followed by popping and the air filling with colorful paper confetti. Sasha froze and took in the state of their living room as Martin chuckled and ushered her in. There were latex balloons covering every inch of the ceiling, vibrantly colored streamers were strewn about on every available surface, the couches and coffee table in the living room were pushed back to make more space, and the kitchen table had been relocated and was now holding a few wrapped gift boxes and a yellow homemade birthday cake with the words _Happy Birthday Sasha!_ scrawled messily on it.

Oh, right. Today was her birthday. How on earth did she forget that?

Tim, Jon, and Martin watched anxiously as Sasha stood there, taking in just how much time and effort her boyfriends had put into pulling this off. Yes they hadn’t been the most conspicuous as they did so but they still did _all this_ just for her. And yet she had suspected them of hiding something from her, from keeping secrets from her. When all they were hiding was something as simple and nice as a surprise party. 

“We thought that we should do something special since we’ve had to miss a couple of birthdays so…”

“Sasha? Are you… do you not like it?”

Sasha’s eyes fell to Tim and Jon and Martin looking at her in anticipation and she couldn’t help but laugh. Laugh at how ridiculous she was being, at how worried over nothing she had been, how utterly adorable her partners were with their small confetti launchers and paper party hats. “No, I don’t like it,” she said, happy tears falling down her cheeks, “I _love_ it. Thank you. God I can’t believe I forgot my own birthday. I love you guys so, so much.”

“We love you too, Sasha.” Jon said softly, approaching her and pulling her into a hug that soon included Tim and Martin. The four could’ve stayed like that forever, encapsulated in an embrace that all of them were reluctant to end. 

But eventually someone’s stomach rumbled and Tim was the first to pull away with promises of cakes. “Alright but before cake, why don’t we do presents?” 

“Yes! You’re gonna love them, Sasha!” Martin said as he eagerly led her over to the table.

Sasha looked at the two gift boxes, carefully wrapped in simple brown paper and tied off with red string, both roughly the same size and shape so she had no idea what was inside. Or at least no idea what was inside one of them, “Is that why you asked that weird question earlier, Tim? About wanting anything in the world that you could get me?”

“Heh, yeah. Not my subtlest move but hey, at least I couldn’t mess it up.” Tim answered, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head as he reached for one of the boxes.

Sasha laughed as she took the present, tearing into the wrapping in no time flat to reveal a simple brown box. Inside the box was a brown leather bound notebook, the cover embossed with a design of a beautiful sprouting bouquet of flowers. As she opened it up to look at what looked like hand made paper, she nearly dropped it at the sight of a name plate attached to the inside cover. But upon closer inspection, the name plate simply read _Property of Sasha James_.

“Tim, this is...this is beautiful! Where did you find it?” Sasha carefully flipped through the journal, ideas flying around in her head and ready to be written out on the blank pages.

“I went into town while Martin and you were out on your walk. I remembered seeing a small gift shop next to the grocer and I was lucky to find it!” Tim said, puffing his chest out triumphantly.

“Wow, Tim! This is seriously-”

“Ah ah ah. Wait just a moment,” Jon tutted as he grabbed the second present. “Before you start praising Tim, open this.”

“Alright, alright. But just know I’m gonna love it no matter what so no need to get jealous.” Sasha teased as she more carefully opened her present. The string and brown wrapping paper fell to the ground as she unwrapped the indistinct cardboard box.

Sasha gasped as she opened the box, revealing another book. But it wasn’t just the book that made her gasp nor the fear of it being a Leitner. No, on the front of the book was a square panel, the perfect shape to hold the polaroid slotted inside. It was from the first week of working in the archives. She remembered Tim excitedly bringing it into work in order to ‘capture the memories of being young’.

In the picture Tim held up the camera, taking a selfie with his arm around a grouchy, scarless Jon as Martin held four mugs of steaming tea as he timidly smiled at the camera. And right behind them all was her...the Real her, smiling brightly at the camera while holding a stack of statements. “But- but I thought- didn’t you say all the pictures you had got replaced?” Sasha asked, desperately willing her voice not to quiver.

“They did, or at least the ones taken with digital cameras.” Martin said, his own voice wavering with emotion.

“But Martin and I were looking through the boxes Basira sent and found, well, see for yourself.”

Sasha stared at Jon, her chest warming over as she stared at the book. “I- heh, I have no idea why but I’m- I’m scared? Like I’m gonna find a picture where it isn’t me or- or…”

“Don’t worry,” Martin said as he ushered them all to sit on the couch, “We combed through all of them before Jon put them in the album. They’re all you, Sasha. They’re all _us_.

Taking a deep breath, Sasha carefully opened the book and sure enough, it was them. A picture of her and Martin eating in the break room, most likely taken by Tim. One of her and Tim standing behind Jon as he’s slumped over his desk and taking a nap. Another of the annual company holiday party where they all wore ugly jumpers. A blurry snapshot of the four of them at the curry restaurant they went to all the time.

“Jon, Martin, I- I…” Sasha couldn’t find the words as she continued looking at the pages filled with memories.

“Happy birthday, Sasha. But we have some bad news about that photo album.”

“Jon’s right.” Tim said as he stood up and started rifling through the closet adjacent to the living room. “The bad news is there weren’t enough pictures to fill up the album. But the good news is that means there’s room to add new pictures.”

Sasha laughs when Tim holds up a polaroid camera for all of them to see. “And even better news is the gift shop also had this bad boy so we can start right away.”

Soon, new pictures got added to the album alongside the old ones. A picture of Sasha blowing out the candles on her cake. An identical picture a few seconds later of her and Martin smearing frosting onto Jon’s face. One of Tim and Sasha slow dancing in the low light of the cabin. And a selfie, Tim holding up the camera with his arm around a sleepy Jon as Martin held four mugs of steaming tea as he timidly smiled at the camera. And Sasha smiling brightly at the camera, tears brimming in her eyes as she held tight onto the photo album.

**Author's Note:**

> I can never write anything that's pure fluff, I just wanted to write a short and sweet fic of the boys making up for missing Sasha's past birthdays  
> But I always gotta pepper in some angst to balance out the flavor lmaooo


End file.
